Understanding encroachment and why its end will be a breath of fresh air for Karachi

By Arsalan Faruqi Published: November 21, 2018 0 SHARES Share Tweet Email They went for Empress Market first in order to send a message that no one will be spared. PHOTO: TWITTER/ BOZICH MOXNESS The city of Karachi is left with a handful of neighbourhoods where encroachment is not an issue yet, namely the Defence Housing Authority, Malir Cantt and few other housing societies. Rest of the city is plagued with encroachments involving roadside restaurants, car showrooms, push cart vendors, illegal settlements and so on. Sometimes hard decisions need to be taken in order to address an issue that was hard to approach earlier. People will be displaced, businesses will be shutdown and many will go jobless but in the longer run, malpractices and violations will come down significantly. Rule of law can only be implemented with an iron fist. This city has suffered just because the law enforcing authorities were lenient and had an extremely ‘accommodating’ attitude, therefore a plethora of civic problems engulfed the city since the last few decades. So to better understand why encroachment was allowed in the first place, here are four causes of encroachment: Real estate prices Karachi is home to immigrants from almost every nook and corner of the country. They head towards Karachi in search of jobs, business opportunities and a relatively better lifestyle than the one offered in their hometowns or villages. In a highly saturated and urbanised Karachi, where real estate prices and rents are sky rocketing, most of them prefer… [Read full story]